Argentine economist and politician Javier Milei is the leader of La Libertad Avanza and has been an Argentine national deputy for Buenos Aires City since December 2021. He has taken positions on many political issues through his public comments and during his presidential campaign for the 2023 Argentine general election.
Politically, Milei has been variously described as far-right, ultraconservative, and right-wing libertarian. While Milei himself identifies as a minarchist or , he adheres to the philosophy of anarcho-capitalism. Regarding economic matters, he is described as an ultraliberal, aligns with the Austrian School, and contends that Argentina is a tax hell. He advocates for a swift reduction in government spending to achieve a balanced budget. He gained widespread recognition through regular television appearances where he criticized the administrations of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Mauricio Macri, and Alberto Fernández, citing what he saw as their rampant spending and a lack of fiscal adjustment as concerns. His proposed abolition of the Central Bank of Argentina and dollarization has been among the most controversial in economic matters.
Several of Milei's political positions have caused controversy, such as his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape, the rejection of sex education in schools, scepticism about COVID-19 vaccines, support for the free possession of firearms by the civilian population, promotion of the far-right cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, and climate change denial. Due to those controversies, as well as his far-right political positions and radical conservative economic and social policies, his primaries win has been considered an election upset, and he has been characterized as a far-right populist.
Social issues
Milei opposes abortion rights, and has publicly affirmed a staunch anti-abortion stance, saying that abortion violates the non-aggression principle; he sees it as a property conflict or issue of ownership, and drew comparisons between abortion and theft. When questioned in September 2021 by a O Globo journalist about an abortion case involving the rape of a 10-year-old girl, Milei asserted that an abortion in such circumstances would still constitute murder. In October 2021, he said: "Why is one crime compensated with another crime?" He stated his support for abortion only when the mother's life is at risk. If he is elected president, he proposes to hold a referendum about the law that legalized abortion in 2020, and in such a case he said that he would support its repeal. He said: "When you construct on the basis of an incorrect moral principle, the result is filth. How can being able to kill other human beings be a right gained? As a liberal, I believe in the unrestricted right to life based on the defence of life, liberty and property. I defend life, biology says that life begins with conception." He also opposes euthanasia. Due to his views about abortion, alongside a crackdown on crime and prohibition of the use of inclusive language, he has been characterized as socially conservative.